Measuring and Verifying Your College's
Energy Savings
Jeff Hughes, Director
Jen Weiss, Senior Finance Analyst
Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina
Jessie Ball duPont Fund
Measurement and Verification Webinar
October 10, 2013
http://efc.sog.unc.edu
Does your school use sub-metering?
9%
3%
16%
Yes, all buildings sub-metered
Yes, some buildings sub-metered
No buildings are sub-metered
I don't know
72%
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t
manage it ….”
Measurement and Verification: quantifying
actual savings created within an individual facility
Measurement vs. Verification

Measurement is used to develop baseline data on energy
use and helps to identify potential energy projects.

Measurement monitors and assigns avoided energy costs
(savings) to buildings/facilities, departments, projects and
equipment.

Measurement is used to evaluate the performance of
project to assure project operation and implementation is
adequate

Verification is used to evaluate performance of project to
assure that projected, and if applicable, promised, impact
occurred:
•
•
Project performance – is the project living up to its potential?
Promised performance – is the project living up to its (financial)
promise?
Source: Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), "Introduction to Measurement and
Verification for DOE Super ESPC Projects," June 2007,
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/intro_mv.pdf
What does it look like?
It does not have to be fancy…
What does it look like?
(Example from UNC-Chapel Hill M&V Program)
Slide and Example Source: Daniel Arneman, UNC EFC Financing Sustainability Course 2009
What does it look like?
(Example from UNC-Chapel Hill M&V Program)
Slide and Example Source: Daniel Arneman, UNC EFC Financing Sustainability Course 2009
What does it look like?
(Example from UNC-Chapel Hill M&V Program)
Slide Source: Daniel Arneman, UNC EFC Financing Sustainability Course 2009
How do you currently track your
college’s energy use?
0%
We don't track energy usage
13%
Third party verification
26%
Energy manager / analyst (internal)
39%
Computer model or Software app
65%
Spreadsheets
19%
Smart meters in buildings
68%
Metered data (including sub-meters)
87%
Utility bills
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Some Benefits of M&V
 Improve general
operations and
maintenance
 Monitor equipment
performance
 Ensure proper
implementation of
energy projects
 Increase awareness of
sustainable energy
initiatives on campus
Some Benefits of M&V (cont.)
 Verify that the projected
avoided energy
use/savings occurs
 Reduce cost of financing
 Find areas for additional
energy reductions and
savings
 Maximize energy
savings by allowing for
future adjustments as
needed
If someone asked you personally
which building used the most total
electricity? You would…
3%
Wouldn't know where to start
28%
Guess fairly accurately
34%
Know where to find the answer fast
34%
Answer right away with data & costs
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
If someone asked you personally
which building used the most total
energy per square foot? You would
9%
Wouldn't know where to start
25%
Guess fairly accurately
56%
Know where to find the answer fast
9%
Answer right away with data & costs
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Lifecycle of an energy project
MEASURE
VERIFY
IDENTIFY
ANALYZE
IMPLEMENT
Example – Ferrum College
Example – Lynchburg College
• In 2010, Lynchburg College entered into an
Energy Savings Contract with Ameresco.
• 22 projects were implemented:
• 4,557,600 kilowatt hour reduction in electricity
• 13,421,364 gallon reduction in water usage
• Ameresco provides an annual report on the
energy savings, however the college has also
contracted with an independent third party to
measure, track and verify the savings.
Lynchburg College Results
Lynchburg College Results
Developing an M&V plan as part of
project implementation
• Outline project and intended results
• Document baseline energy usage
• Determine expected avoided energy use (savings)
• Take changes in energy cost, weather and building use into
consideration
• Review contracts and agreements
• Guarantees from energy savings performance contracts
• Energy use projections from contractors
• Define performance measurement
• How often will measurement occur?
• What types of tools will be used?
• How to adjust for weather and behavioral changes
Measurement and verification
components and resources
• Utility bills
• Meters and associated metering technology
• Building information (characteristics, usage,
weather)
• Spreadsheets
• Computer models
• Software applications
• A qualified engaged analyst (internal or
external)
• Visualization dashboards
• Students…..
What best describes your
situation? Our school has a…
17%
10%
Full-time energy manager
Part-time energy manager
73%
No energy manager
Who is responsible?
• Consider the frequency of verification
• In-house verification
• Facilities
• Sustainability Director
• Energy Manager
• Third party verification
How much should it cost?
• Consider the confidence
level of the estimated energy
or cost savings.
• Balance the savings
uncertainty against the cost
to execute the plan.
• 1% to 10% of typical project cost
savings.
• Unproven technologies may
warrant additional attention.
Some challenges
• Historical utility data not available
• Difficulty in measurement of individual projects
• Comprehensive campus-wide monitoring
• Sub-metered building monitoring
• Project-specific
• Lack of dedicated utility meters
• Risk vs. benefit analysis
• Other influences (weather, behavioral)
Resources
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Measurement and Verification Portal
http://mnv.lbl.gov/
M&V Guidelines: Measurement and
Verification for Federal Energy Projects
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/mv_g
uidelines.pdf
Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evalu
ate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager
Green Revolving Investment Tracking
System (GRITS) http://greenbillion.org/grits
Last thought:
shiny toys should be tied to objectives…
Thank you!
http://efc.sog.unc.edu
27
Jeff Hughes
jhughes@sog.unc.edu
919-843-4956
Jennifer Weiss
jweiss@sog.unc.edu
504-606-8148
Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina
School of Government, Knapp-Sanders Building
CB #3330
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3330
USA
http://efc.sog.unc.edu